I groaned loudly as I stood up and steadied myself.
“Roth! We need some help here!” came a shout from my unit commander.
“Yes, sir!” I yelled back and immediately ran over to help barricade the bridge that we were blocking.
All around me, my comrades grunted and groaned as they picked up any pieces of useless debris and tried to make it fit into the hastily created roadblock.
I made it to where my unit commander was with a few other soldiers and held onto the empty spot of the massive concrete slab.
“On my mark!” the commander yelled out and the soldiers readied themselves. “Now!”
Almost as if we were one organism, we lifted the slab of concrete and leaned it firmly on the blockade.
“That’s good enough,” the commander said to us with a nod and turned to the rest of the soldiers. He paused for a second, most likely listening to the orders coming from his earpiece. “Roger that, Oslo out,” he spoke after a few seconds and then bellowed, “squad leaders, on me!”
I raised an eyebrow. I guess he was calling all the squad leaders to relay new information. I walked to him, as the leader for the Direct Action Squad, and waited beside him for all the other captains to reach us.
“Headcount,” the commander said once everyone that he had called for was there.
“Alpha squad, present,” the leader of the Alpha squad started.
“Bravo squad, present,” the next captain said.
“Charlie squad, present,” another one said.
“Engineer squad, present,” the squad leader of my old squad said. A small smile spread across my face as I saw his professionalism. He had been my second-in-command so I had trained him myself before I became the leader of the new squad.
“Direct action squad, present,” I said at last.
“Hn,” the commander grunted. “Now listen up,” he said. “New information says the enemy convoy is only ten clicks out. That means we have about ten to fifteen minutes to prepare for the ambush.”
All the squad leaders showed surprise at that knowledge. We were originally expecting to have almost an hour more to prepare… but when have things ever gone according to plan? This was war. If everything is going according to plan, it means you’ve most likely walked into an ambush.
“Bravo squad will set up charges all along the bridge and below it. Make sure to hide them properly. Alpha and Charlie squad will light them up once the roadblock stops them. I want the D.A.S. to camp up on the other side of the bridge and ready yourselves for the assault. Go in and grab the guy as soon as they start firing at us. Engineer squad, you guys will hang back with Bravo after they’re done setting the explosives and provide additional support, should we need it,” the commander ordered. He paused before saying, “let’s go get this son of a bitch.”
“Yes, sir!” we yelled and ran to get our respective squads ready for the hell that we were about to rain down on these vermin.
It was only about ten minutes later that the reconnaissance unit I had sent out radioed back. “[Recon to captain, do you copy?]” the voice came through the radio static.
“[This is Roth, I read you loud and clear. Go ahead]” I replied.
“[I have visual confirmation on the convoy]” he said and paused. “[I’d say about three minutes out from your position. No visual on the package yet, but there is a heavily guarded g-wagon in the middle. That might be it, over.]”
“[Roger that, Recon. Make your way back to us when able,]” I ordered.
“[Wilco. Recon, out.]” The last transmission came through and I instantly switched to another frequency.
“[Sir, Recon just reported back. The convoy is two minutes out. Negative visual on the package, but there is a heavily guarded g-wagon, over,]” I said, relaying all the information as quickly as possible.
“[Roger that. Get your squad ready. Oslo, out,]” the commander replied.
I quickly changed back to my squad’s frequency and spoke to the five other men scattered and lying prone in different positions around the road to the bridge. “[Ready up, boys. It’s time.]” I heard multiple noises of radio static come in, signifying they were all ready to roll.
As we laid in wait for the enemy convoy, the light sputtering of an engine was heard first. I narrowed my eyes. Light sputtering… That didn’t make sense. If it’s an entire convoy, there’d be loud noises from the engines of the trucks and the SUVs. It shouldn’t be such a low noise like this one. Not to mention, it sounds like there’s only one engine.
Knowing what I was risking, I raised my head slightly and took a peek over the ridge of the hill I was behind. “FUCK!” I swore as soon as I saw what the noise was coming from.
I immediately took out my radio and switched it to the unit general frequency since I didn’t know exactly which one the sniper teams were on. “[Break, break, break,]” I said, interrupting the conversation that was going on. “[Be advised, the enemy has sent a motorcycle recon unit of their own. Do any of the sniper units have a visual!?]” I spoke urgently.
After a short pause, the replies started coming in.
“[Viper one, no visual.]”
“[Viper two, no visual.]”
“[Viper three, no visual.]”
“[Viper four, no visual. Sorry Roth,]” the last one said.
“Bloody hell,” I swore again as I tried to think of another strategy. If we didn’t take the biker guy out in time, he’d see the blockade and warn the trailing convoy. If I tried to take him out, they’d easily hear the gunshot. We hadn’t brought suppressors with us since this wasn’t going to be a stealth mission. Now, I regretted that decision.
With a small twist of a knob, I switched back frequencies. “[Jennings!]” I spoke again, talking to the marksman on my team this time. “[Change your position asap. Get a visual and take this guy out,]” I ordered.
“[Roger,]” he replied right away. “[I’ll try my best, but I doubt I’ll make it in time.]” His voice sounded as if he was already running at full speed.
“[Even if you don’t make it in time, make sure to eliminate the fucker anyway. Till then, the rest of us will figure out another way. Roth, out,]” I answered and switched to talk to the commander.
“[Sir, I strongly advise you to order Alpha and Charlie squads to take up our positions. I will be moving my squad forward,]” I said.
“[Yeah, I was thinking the same. Alpha, Charlie, move up. Bravo, be ready to blow the bridge,]” the commander ordered.
I had already ordered my team to start moving as stealthily as possible.
Barely a minute later, I once again peeked over the ridge. In the distance, I could see a cloud of dust being blown up on the road. “[Ready up,]” I said. I looked back and nearly at the beginning of the bridge, I saw Jennings dragging the dead body of the motorcycle guy away from the road and throwing him into the river below.
The rumbling of the engines got louder as they got nearer to our position. Right as the first vehicle of the enemy convoy had a direct line of sight of the fallen motorcycle on the road, they halted. With a light screech, all the vehicles came to a stop.
Jennings had been able to clear the body, but not the motorcycle in time. I couldn’t blame him though. The fact that he had taken the guy out before he could warn the others about the roadblock was a miracle in and of itself.
For a moment, there was a serene silence, like the calm before a storm. Then, everything happened at once.
An RPG came flying over a hill in the distance and squarely hit the first truck in the convoy, blowing it up and most likely killing everyone in it. Two soldiers from my squad that were farther up the road on either side of the convoy popped up over the ridge with their own RPGs and blew up the last two vehicles, blocking off the exit.
By now, enemy soldiers were rushing out of the remaining vehicles and— Wait… enemy soldiers? Not militants?
Actually, now that I looked closely, they looked like the Paraguayan military. What the hell!?!?
I shook my head and put the questions on the backburner. Right now, we had a job to do.
Alpha and Charlie squad came out of their own ambush positions and started engaging the hostile forces.
“[Go!]” was my only command and my squad rose from our spots and aimed right for the most heavily guarded truck there.
With practiced fluid motions, I engaged every enemy soldier in my area that was around the g-wagon and as one, my unit descended upon it.
As Alpha squad stayed on the offensive, engaging the hostile troops at the front, Charlie squad moved around the sides to trap the enemy with a pincer maneuver from the sides and the back.
My squad and I shot the g-wagon’s tires and blew them out while our marksman who had caught up to us shot the engine block, completely disabling the vehicle.
As the fighting died down quickly, no activity came from the g-wagon. The soldiers from the Alpha and Charlie squads that weren’t busy joined us and trained their own sights on the vehicle.
“Get out with your hands up!” I yelled out loud to the people inside.
Nothing happened for a second. Then, the backdoor window finally rolled down and two hands with skin white as snow and long feminine fingers came out.
“The fuck?” someone said from beside me. “I thought the package was supposed to be a man.”
I thought back to when we were briefed about the mission. In hindsight, they never really told us if it was a man or a woman. All they told us was that “the package is an extremely dangerous arms dealer”. I guess it’s a woman, eh? It was rare to see women in a business like this. I welcomed it, though. It always made things more interesting.
“Please don’t shoot. I am exiting the vehicle now,” the woman said, sounding extremely calm and confident. That immediately put me on edge.
“We won’t shoot as long as you follow our instructions,” I said, reassuring the woman.
One of the arms went back inside and opened the door. Her legs swung out of the car and planted themselves onto the shitty dirt road. With slow movements, she popped her head out and stood fully behind the door.
“Damn,” I whispered unintentionally as I saw her. Her face was genuinely aesthetically pleasing. And the short straight hair dyed red with pitch back mascara around her eyes only augmented her beauty. “Step away from the vehicle slowly and keep your hands up the entire time,” I said to her.
She merely smiled and nodded, complying with my orders. As she walked away, another soldier approached her and put her hands behind her back while slapping some cuffs on.
“Take her to the bridge,” I ordered.
“Yes, sir,” came the prompt reply as she was handed off to two other soldiers from Charlie squad.
As they left, I called out once more to the people still inside the vehicle. “Driver! Exit the vehicle slowly with your hands up,” I said. The driver also followed my instructions and stepped out. He was a big burly man with short brown hair and a face that looked Scandinavian. A soldier again handcuffed him and handed him off to two other soldiers who escorted him to the bridge.
And like that, one after another, a total of nine people in civilian clothes were apprehended and taken to the bridge.
“[Clear the evidence,]” I ordered my squad who instantly jumped to action, setting plastic explosive charges on all the vehicles in the enemy convoy, while all the other soldiers keenly watched it, making sure no one was hidden somewhere.
On the bridge, I stood in front of the nine people that we had apprehended. “Look,” I said, pointing to the convoy which was now barely recognizable debris. “You have a slim to none chance of escaping us,” I stated, gazing at all of them to judge their reactions. “So unless you have the entire force of the cartel that you’re working with coming to rescue you guys, I strongly advise you to cooperate with us.”
I saw a tiny flicker of surprise on the red-haired woman and a mix of confusion and surprise on a few others, but no one spoke. I nodded.
“Alright,” I said, pulling my sidearm out. The beautiful Browning 9-mm always felt perfect in my hand. “I’ll start with the youngest one,” I said and walked over to the boy who was kneeling in line with the others. He barely looked 14 years old. “Hey, buddy!” I said, trying to sound cheerful. He looked up at me with what could only be considered dead eyes. “What’s your name?” I asked with a smile.
He only blinked, opting to stay silent.
Hmm… Maybe he didn’t understand English.
“Quel est votre nom?” I asked in French since it was the second official language of my country.
Still nothing.
“Как вас зовут?” I tried in Russian.
Nothing. Though he had a darker shade of skin tone, black hair, and brown eyes.
“Cuál es tu nombre?” Nothing.
I looked over to the guy beside him. “Dude, what language does he speak?” I asked.
He didn’t reply either. Just fucking great.
“Haaah,” I sighed. I could try about nine more languages but decided not to. Instead, I knelt down in front of him, which made him widen his eyes a little bit. I pointed at myself with my free hand and said, “Peter”. I didn’t care if he was a child. I wasn’t about to give him my real name. Next, I pointed at him and asked, “You?”
Instead of replying though, he pursed his lips and looked away. I guess that meant he was either working with them or being coerced by them.
Once more I sighed and stood up. This was going to take a long time. Just when I thought that the leader of Alpha squad tapped me on the shoulder. “Wassup?” I asked.
“35 minutes. They have reinforcements on the way,” he said in a low voice.
“Ugh,” I groaned. Just great. Guess I was going to have to speed things up. “Well, thanks for informing me. I’ll be done in about 20,” I replied.
He nodded and left to go help the commander with whatever they were doing.
As soon as he was out of earshot, I gestured to the ten or so soldiers around me, keeping an eye on the prisoners. “All of you,” I said. “Turn around. You’re not going to see, nor hear anything.”
The soldiers quietly complied and faced away.
I didn’t like doing things this way. Honestly, it was messy, annoying, and very much illegal… But I had no choice.
I walked over to the woman. “Stand up,” I commanded. She didn’t budge.
Dammit, why do they have to always make things hard!?
“Alpha six, Charlie six, turn around,” I said and the two soldiers that stood behind the prisoners turned around. “If they move, light them all up,” I said.
“Yes, sir,” they replied with a nod and readied their rifles.
I pointed my pistol at the head of the burly man that was kneeling beside her and squeezed the trigger. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the hills around us as the man’s body fell back lifelessly. Still, the other soldiers didn’t turn back.
“What… What the hell!?” the woman screamed as she looked at me with a horrified look. “That’s a war crime!”
I looked at her as if she was crazy. “Yes, darling. This entire operation is a war crime. In fact, our unit isn’t even supposed to exist. Now, stand up,” I commanded again.
“Who are you people!? That camo… You’re not Americans…” she said, getting to her feet.
“No, we are not,” I replied as I walked her to another position in front of the prisoners. I kicked the back of her knee, making her grunt, and made her kneel again.
“Who are you?” she asked again.
“[Jennings,]” I spoke into my radio. “[She tries to move, you blow her head off.]”
“[Roger that,]” the reply came. High Command said we had to bring her back alive or dead. So it didn’t really matter.
“As for you,” I said, caressing her silky smooth hair with my palm. “I’ll tell you who we are when it’s the right time.”
I walked back over to stand behind the other prisoners and looked her in the eyes. “You sold weapons to terror groups in the Middle East last month. Correct?” I asked.
“You’re crazy!” she yelled at me.
“Yes, but that’s why I’m able to do this job. Besides, this is still nothing compared to what you do,” I answered.
“I don’t kill people unless they try to kill me first! I only sell weapons.”
“Which causes the deaths of millions every year. So please don’t try to take the moral high ground with me, sweetheart.”
“I’m only a businesswoman, trying to do business,” she replied.
“Yes, and that is completely fine with me. I do not care who dies and who lives as long as that person is not one of my countrymen. That is why we left you alone till now, and only hunted you when our allies asked for help. Now though, your actions have caused the deaths of eleven of our civilians.” Her eyes widened, realizing the incident I was talking about. “You brought this upon yourself.”
I raised my pistol once more and put a round through another guy in front of me. Once again, his body slumped over lifelessly. Once again, none of the soldiers flinched.
“Now answer my questions or more die. I haven’t got all day,” I said calmly.
I knew this was a crude method, but again, I was short on time and these guys were unnecessary to the mission anyway. I might as well get as much info as I could out of them.
“Yes!” she screamed before I could squeeze the trigger once more. “Yes, I sold five hundred assault rifles and a few RPGs to ISIS last month,” she answered.
Interesting. We knew about the rifles since they were stolen from a secret factory in Norway, but we had no idea about the RPGs.
“Who did you obtain the rifles from?” I asked.
“They’re a European terror group called ‘The Nordic Kings’,” she said.
“I’m gonna need more than that,” I prompted for more information.
“They're rogue and ex-military operatives of European countries. They operate out of Sweden. That’s all I know about them,” she said.
I nodded as our suspicions were confirmed. The Nordic Kings. We had one of our own undercover with them.
“You met the leader of ISIS when you sold the weapons. Who is he?” I asked.
“He didn’t show his face,” she replied. I lifted my pistol and squeezed the trigger. Another prisoner slumped over, dead.
“STOP IT! I’m telling the truth,” she screamed again.
It was quite surprising seeing her desperate like this. From the intel we received, ‘the package’ was supposed to be calm, cool, and collected at all times no matter the situation. Had it not been for the crucial information about how she was incredibly protective of her team, I would’ve assumed that we got the wrong person.
“I didn’t ask if he showed his face or not. I asked you for his identification. Who. Is. He? Don’t try to play word games with me,” I said. I moved over to the next one and realized it was the boy that I talked to. “Now, answer me or the little one dies.”
“He never said his name, but he had a slight British accent and a tic that made him say ‘you know’ almost every sentence. I swear, that’s all I know about him!” she said, almost pleading for me to believe her.
“Alright—” I was about to continue, but was interrupted.
“Tony! We gotta evacuate! Now!” the leader of Bravo squad shouted and I resisted the strong urge to shoot him too. I never understood how they picked him to be in this unit. Why the hell would he say my real name!?
“Tch,” I clicked my tongue. “Get her back to the hills,” I said to the soldiers.
As they lifted her and walked back towards the other side, I lifted my pistol and fired.
No witnesses. I didn't care who it was.
Once we got to one of the hills beside the blown up enemy convoy, Bravo squad did their job and detonated the charges on the bridge, collapsing it perfectly and burying most of the evidence.
I heard a rumbling and as I looked behind me, a formation of chinook and griffon helicopters came into sight.
Time to go back to base.
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